Pale Colored Irises
by kawaii-kirei
Summary: Edward Elric is a blind sculptor, and his new project is Roy Mustang. [RoyEd, yaoi]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Fullmetal Alchemist and all of it's characters does not and never will belong to me.

* * *

**Pale-colored Irises  
- chapter 1 -**

Edward Elric frowned as he washed his hands slowly by the sink in his bathroom, still a bit irked at the last phone call he had just received. The _military_ -- he still found it shocking -- had actually asked him to sculpt an officer a statue. As the one who called him said, the military wanted to grant the officer a statue in gratitude for his valuable participation during the last war. Said that the officer had actually managed to save this guy they called the head of the military. King Bradley, was it?

Usually, he wouldn't care what job his customer had, be it the president of a highly-esteemed company or a mere sidewalk prostitute. As long as they had money, then that was all that mattered to him. He wasn't poor, really. In fact, due to his _skills _as a sculptor, his fees were getting higher and higher by the months, but even so, the customers just kept coming and coming. It was a statue after a statue, that he barely even has the time to breathe, but he wasn't complaining. His earnings were enough reward, anyway. Plainly said, he was filthy rich.

Even if was rich, though, he lived in a medium-sized apartment, in a peaceful village slightly isolated from urban society. What he does with the money was his secret, that even his neighbors, the Rockbells, who have known him since childhood, and visits once a week to check up on him, doesn't know.

The phone rang again, and Edward ignored it, thinking that it was the military again, just to make sure he got the details right. It's been the third time they called today. He was slightly getting tired of the perky voice on the other side of the line. He hated the military. He hated it with a passion.

He was once an officer, though. That was two years ago. He's now twenty-one years old, and back in his days, he was very known for being a prodigy, being accepted in the military at the age of fifteen. Many thought that it would be impossible, but he managed it. At age nineteen, a horrible tragedy occurred, and he left the military due to his... defectiveness.

Ed snorted. _It was more like uselessness. _He splashed his face with water, closed the faucet and automatically reached for his right, where his hand came in contact with a fluffy, white towel. After drying his face with the towel, he looked up at the mirror in front of him... and saw nothing.

At age nineteen, the Ishbals threw an attack for the first time in a very long time to the military, and it was him who suffered the most.

He remembered fire, and screaming everywhere. No one died, except one.

His little brother, Alphonse Elric. Although Alphonse wasn't part of the military, he was always found beside Edward, and it just so happened that Ed was patrolling the military base when the attack happened. The last thing Ed saw was his little brother under a barricade of rocks, dead and lying in his own pool of blood, and burning particles going for his face, before he passed out.

Alphonse Elric died, and Edward Elric lost his sight.

After three weeks of treatment, Edward was dispatched, and was told to leave the military, seeing as he won't be able to do anything useful anymore with his eyesight. Of course, they didn't tell him that. The only thing they told him was that they were _firing _him for him to be able to get some rest, and some time to ease his trauma away.

Him losing his job didn't matter much to him, though. He hated the military because they wouldn't give Alphonse a proper funeral. That was explainable, but then again, the military also refused to merely _help_ him give Alphonse a funeral.

His money were spent on his medication for his eyes, but it was spent by the military, without his consent. If he had a choice, he wouldn't care for his eyes and use the money to give Al a proper burial.

Overcoming his depression two months later after the tragedy, he started his new job. A sculptor. It was far-fetched, really, but Ed had been sculpting small statues when he was a child, using dried clay, using blocks of cement down by the street, or anything at all. He remembered the times he gave his mother and his little brother statues each on Christmas. It was just small, sculpted to look like it's recipient, and even though it was -- bluntly said -- horrible to look at, his mother and Al loved it very much.

After their mother died, Ed tried to actually do _real_ sculpting. With real materials and such. Sculpting Alphonse had always been his favorite projects. Back then, sculpting with eyes closed, and relying on his hands only to _feel_ the details was only just a game that he and his little brother had started. He never knew he would seriously need it in the future.

During the first few months of his new job, it was only a small business that started with a sign beside his door, and some newspaper ads. His first customer in the business had been a childhood friend of his and Alphonse's. Winry Rockbell. Ed was pleased to say that she liked it so much, she squealed for two hours straight. His neighbors merely tried it out out of pity for him, but as time went on, they went back and back, and new customers came, and they, too, kept coming back. Ed didn't really know what had happened, but he wasn't complaining.

He smiled, closing the lights of the bathroom and entering his bedroom. He was used to the structure of his house to know where exactly the walls were, where the doors were, where the stairs were that sometimes he didn't even need to think, because his body moved automatically for him. He settled in his bed, glancing slightly at his bedpost where a vase of slightly withered yellow irises stood, and beside it, a picture of him and his brother stood grinning, holding fishing rods and caught fishes, but of course, he saw nothing. Sighing, he lied down on his bed, and closed pale-colored eyes.

He fell asleep almost instantly, with his mind set on one thing.

Tomorrow, he would meet Colonel Roy Mustang.

* * *

**KK: **First of all, this has been in my mind for such a long time, but I was hesitant to write it. I only did, though, after I told it to silver windflame over the phone, and she... uh... kinda convinced me to write it, so here it is. X3 Go visit her! XD The title is kinda freaking me out. o.o Well, wrote this in forty-five minutes (-le gasp!-), and hopefully you guys'll like it! Please review! 


	2. chapter 2

**Pale-colored Irises  
- chapter 2 -**

"Good afternoon, Colonel." Edward bowed slightly, opening the door to let the man in, not aware that he was deadpanning. He wanted this over and done with.

Roy Mustang bowed as well, ignoring the fact that the blonde was wearing sunglasses in his own house, before entering the house with a small raise of an eyebrow. "Ah, I would have expected this to be a luxurious mansion for such a well-known sculptor, if that's not too bold to say."

"No, it's alright." Ed took the other's coat, feeling the leather under his fingers, before hanging it somewhere by the hook on the wall. "I live alone, so there's no point for a mansion, is there?" His lips quirked upward slightly when Roy let out a slight chuckle.

Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

"The famous Edward Elric… People had already told me that you were young, but I never thought that you'd be so… _short_."

Or not.

* * *

Roy coughed nervously as he sat on a stool in Ed's workshop – also known as his basement – and watched as the blonde ran about the room, grabbing some cutters over there, some gloves over here, before going to the table beside the stool and slamming the materials on it before going around again to get some clay, stomping all the way.

"Did I…" Roy swallowed, "Say something wrong?" He asked, but even so, the smallest hints of a smug smirk played on his lips.

"No." Ed answered, albeit through gritted teeth. "Not at all." With a slight huff under his breath, he sat on another stool right next to Roy, slipping on his gloves. "Let's start." He reached out to lay a hand on the man's cheek, but frowned when the other flinched away. "You haven't been properly informed, have you?"

Roy raised an eyebrow, eyeing the gloved hand just a few centimeters away from his face. "Excuse me?"

"I'm blind." Edward said bluntly. He wasn't surprised that Roy didn't know, because he knew that even thought his blindness was his most intricate feature, when people talked about him, it was also the one often getting overshadowed by his skills as a sculptor.

He sighed, getting a bit impatient before reaching out again, this time satisfied to find that the other man didn't flinch away this time and leaned forward obediently. _Just like a dog. _He remembered the times when people went in an outrage at the phrase 'I'm from the military.' and called him not an intrepid soldier but merely a dog of the military.

Roy frowned slightly, feeling a bit irksome because he wasn't in control, and he suddenly felt so weak and _useless_. Control was something that he savored in the military, and obviously, there was no control in his power here. He shifted slightly, a bit uncomfortable at having a stranger's hand poke and probe at his face. Suddenly, his eyes wandered to the sunglasses, and realization dawned on his face. "You don't have to wear sunglasses, you know."

To his surprise, the blonde's lips twitched upwards, but he wasn't sure if it was either a smile or a smirk. "Most customers find it weird to see what they say are _emotionless eyes_," – He snickered a bit – "and sometimes I find it hard to work when they keep on fidgeting under my hands."

"Well," Roy paused when fingers ran over his lips delicately, and he cursed at himself when he felt blood rush to his cheeks. He spoke again when the fingers busied themselves with the side of his face, shifting a bit to raise an arm to grab hold of the sunglasses and yank them off the blonde's face. "The sunglasses disturb me a bit."

Ed sputtered, but quieted down with a frown after that last statement. With an embarrassed blush, he continued his work with a mutter under his breath. "You could have just asked."

* * *

It was already quarter to eight; four hours have already passed since Roy appeared. Roy was getting restless, just sitting there and being touched by a complete stranger. Well, all their conversations from those four hours didn't exactly make Edward Elric a _complete_ stranger, but a stranger nonetheless.

So far, Roy had found out that the blonde was blind, has been sculpting since he was a child, lived alone, and was twenty-one years old. It was hard to squeeze things out of him – especially between their frequent arguments (Ed was touchy when Roy brought up his height.) – and most of the subject of their conversations was often abruptly changed into something related to sculpture. It was better to go with the flow, then.

On the working table was already a half-finished head. All that was needed was to put on more intricate details of the face. Still, Roy couldn't believe just how close the head was to looking like him.

The basement floor was littered with excess clay that flew away during the molding process, and he barely wondered how a blind man would be able to clean it all.

He fidgeted in his seat, wondering how stiff his back and neck will be after all this. What time is it, anyway?

Edward most likely realized his discomfort and finally retreated his hands, before going on to continue the real sculpting. He continued like that for another hour, this time talking about Roy's job.

As they conversed, Roy sat there idly, his eyes on the hands making the head the whole time, marveling at the fact that the person making it couldn't even _see _it. Then, he flicked his gaze to the face of the sculptor, lingering shortly on the eyes – eyes that were seemingly looking at his handiwork but really to nowhere at all.

"We're done for tonight." Ed suddenly announced, but his hands still stayed where they are – molding clay. "You can go home now if you want."

Roy resisted the urge to leap for joy and scream ecstatically, so he settled with a mere cough. "Thank you for the trouble. When will I be getting the finished product?"

At that, Edward raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I only said that we're done for _tonight_. We still have the whole week ahead of us."

It was Roy's turn to raise an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You can't expect me to sculpt your body out of scratch, right? If that's the case, you'd end up looking anorexic with big feet and a really, really big head." The blonde drawled.

"W-what? Body?" The first thing that entered Roy's mind was that he was going to have those hands poke and probe his **body **for a **week**.

"Yes." Ed replied. "The one who called me told me that they were expecting a full-body sculpture. After all, they said, you're the national's _hero_."

Just then, a loud bell resounded in the house, along with a very faint _'Ed! It's me! I brought brownies!' _and somewhere in Ed's mind, he recognized the sound of his doorbell, but other than that, it went unnoticed.

"B-body…" Roy repeated, face already beet red at the mere thought. Coughing to get his composure back, he meekly nodded in understanding. "Of course. I'll be back tomorrow at the same time."

But Ed wasn't going to let him go that easily. Surely, the Colonel didn't think he could get away with all of those height-related insults before? Ed took his hands off the clay, reaching blindly to the side to grab hold of the towel there, before proceeding to wipe his hands off, after which he stood up with a smirk. "Don't worry, _Colonel_. We'll **try** to keep your clothes on. I hope you don't mind. After all, it **is** only business. And I'm blind." The sputtering coming from the other man was like sweet music to the blonde's ears.

Still smirking, he put the towel down and proceeded to walk away from the table. "I'll escort you out of the house, Colonel."

Roy nodded, whole face colored scarlet, muttering a barely audible, "Of course, thank you."

But of all the times for Edward Elric, world-renowned sculptor, to slip on a patch of clay on the floor, it just **had** to be now. He barely had the time to realize what was happening to him, but all he knew was he was _falling_. He was expecting the impact of the floor so much, that when arms wrapped around him in an effort to save him from landing painfully – and embarrassingly, mind you – he pushed away the owner of those arms on impulse.

And Roy, not expecting that kind of reaction, toppled over, and it all ended up in both of them falling on the floor in their most not-so-desired position.

Apparently, the one who rang the doorbell a few minutes ago happened to be Winry Rockbell visiting her neighbor with a plate of brownies in hand. After not finding him in the living room, or in the kitchen, she bypassed his room to go directly into the basement.

But when she opened the door, her jaw dropped and the brownies _almost_ fell from her hand.

Why?

Because her long-time friend (that she had long since decided was asexual) was currently lying under a person she didn't know – and a _man_, too –, both of their faces flushed and sweaty.

That's why.

Winry made a mental note to speak to Ed about the birds and the bees later.

**- tbc -**

* * *

**KK: **uhm… I'm sorry for the super late update, because I've only just managed to get our computer (and our keyboard. –stabs keyboard-) working, so I've only just managed to type it up. It took me at least three to four days to finish this, because I didn't know how to continue. XD But I hope it's long enough to make up for the lost time.

I was really surprised about the reviews I got from the first chapter, so thank you so much!

And I apologize for the uber lame ending. X3

I hope you enjoyed it!


	3. chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Fullmetal Alchemist and all of its characters do not and never will belong to me.

* * *

****

Pale-Colored Irises  
- chapter 3 -

"Oh, my." Winry coughed nervously as she sat in between the two gentlemen eating the brownies she brought very nonchalantly. The two ate in complete and utter, yet comfortable, silence, but she, however, was awkwardly shifting from one side to another.

With a big swallow, Winry started, "Edo… I – uh – never knew... that... well... you know… _thatyouweregay._" When Ed opened his mouth to speak, she hastily waved her hands in front of her with a sheepish laugh, "Not that it matters, of course!"

"Winry…" Ed sighed exasperatedly, berating on telling the girl that he wasn't gay, but wondered if she was going to listen to him at all. He would have liked to send Roy an apologetic look, if only he knew where Roy was.

"Just… uhm…" Winry coughed, "Even though you're both boys…" She leaned over Ed to whisper something in his ear –

which sent Edward blushing from head to toe with an aghast expression. "PROTECTED SEX? PROTECTED _SEX_? **WINRY**!"

* * *

"Well, I should be off now." Winry smiled at both of them innocently, nodding her head in Roy's direction, who nodded back albeit with a still red face from their earlier predicament.

Ed, however, refused to let himself be affected over something so childish, and tried to will the blush on his cheeks away yet to no avail. "Winry, do you really think you should be out in this rain?"

True enough, it had started raining a while ago, and they figured that it would cause no harm, but it was just recently that the rain started to pour heavily. Winry waved him off with a shrug, "Oh, hush, Edward. My house is just a few blocks away. What about Colonel Mustang?" She coughed, elbowing Ed slightly on the ribs.

Edward, even though he couldn't see her, followed her voice and proceeded to glare at her.

Roy merely shrugged it off. "Don't worry about me, I'll have my driver pick me up."

"Too dangerous." Ed muttered under his breath. "We get floods very often in this area."

"Well… I'll just walk then."

"I told you, we get floods very often in this area. By the time you get out of here, the water would already be around your neck." Edward pointed to his neck to emphasize his point. "You could stay here for the night, I insist." He offered, giving Winry a pointed look, but the woman merely whistled innocently.

Roy smiled in gratitude. "Well, then, I suppose the famous Edward Elric must also be famous for his hospitality."

Edward turned red for the umpteenth time. "What do you want me to do, let you drown?" He mumbled.

"Well, that's settled then. I'll be going now, Ed." She waved cheerfully, and walked out of the house with an umbrella above her head, but not before leaning over to Ed yet again to whisper something.

And this time, Ed's cheeks colored ten shades darker as he muttered under his breath through gritted teeth. "**No**, I don't need condoms."

* * *

"Please make yourself at home." Edward nodded to his guest, walking up the stairs. The only thing you could find upstairs was three doors and a window. The first door was Ed's room, while the door in front of it was the guest room. The room beside the guest room was the bathroom. He led Roy to the guest room. "It's a bit messy, though. Would you like me to tidy up first?"

"Don't worry about it. I've already troubled you enough." Roy spoke, still a bit amazed at how a blind man could go through the whole house without at least bumping into a wall or tripping over something. Well, of course, it was _his_ house, after all.

"Not at all." Edward mumbled.

The older man raised an eyebrow. "You mumble a lot. It's not good when speaking to customers." He said playfully, smirking.

Ed huffed. "My customers don't care. As long they get their statue, they're fine with it."

"Well, I do." Roy said thoughtfully. "And I'm a customer."

The blonde let his lips curl up into a smirk. "Then I suppose my customer would like to have dinner then?"

Roy smirked back. "Dinner would be nice."

* * *

Roy watched silently as Edward ran about the kitchen, oblivious to his audience. He walked to one side to get the fork, walked to the other side to put the spaghetti on the plates, before finally pouring the sauce. It really was amazing to think that he had already adapted with his blindness to actually _cook_, despite the fact that he had been scrambling around the kitchen to find the hand towel that was actually on the floor.

"Colonel?"

Roy snapped out of his thoughts, eyes darting back to the blonde expectantly.

"Colonel?" Ed tried again, walking forward. "Are you there?" He took a few more steps, before his shoe found that hand towel on the floor and he let out a startled yelp as his foot slipped, and he fell forward, his mind picturing the architecture of his house yet again, remembering the kitchen counter, and dreading that he might hit his head on it.

And in panic, Roy ran forward, arms outstretched, but when he managed to finally reach the other, the weight surprised him and he toppled over as well, falling backwards with Ed clutched tightly to his chest. Then finally, he let out a strangled yelp as his back and head collided harshly with the kitchen floor.

"Colonel, oh my _god_, Colonel!" Edward gasped, hearing the strained groan from underneath him. He scrambled upwards, letting the other's arms slip from around him, and he aimlessly grabbed underneath him, wanting to _feel_ if Roy was alright.

He felt the other's chest underneath his palm and raised his hand higher, only to find his neck. _Not that._ Then finally, he raised his hand even higher and he cupped the man's cheek nervously.

And somehow, even with the searing pain on his backside, Roy felt utterly at ease with that hand on his cheek.

* * *

"I apologize. I really, really am sorry." Edward sighed, hand on his forehead and fingers clutching his hair exasperatedly as he guiltily looked – in what he thought Roy's direction was – at the man lying on his couch.

Roy laughed nervously, shrugging it off with a wave of his hand but soon retreated his hand back when he realized the other couldn't see it anyway. "It's alright, I assure you. It's not that painful anyway, I've had worse."

"I really am sorry, though." Ed mumbled under his breath, wondering what the military will say about him when they heard this. "We've been doing nothing but falling around."

"I suppose." Roy laughed, but his laughter died down when he caught sight of that stressed look on the blonde's face. "Don't be so hard on yourself, I already said it was alright." He said assuredly, but was surprised when Ed raised his head with a small smile. He was even more surprised to find himself blushing.

"Even so, it must be really painful."

"Not at all." He sighed, but yelped when Ed walked over to him and poked his ribs.

"Not at all?" Ed raised an eyebrow.

Roy spoke painfully through gritted teeth. "_Not at all_."

**- tbc -**

* * *

**KK: **I have no excuse, really. –sweat drop- Other than writer's block. I swear, I've been trying to write this chapter for three weeks now and so far, have tried three times and thrown away three different versions of this chappie. Please forgive me for any typos and such, and I hope you all enjoy! X3 I'm really happy with the feedback this story is getting! –hugs-


	4. chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **Fullmetal Alchemist and all of its characters do not and never will belong to me.

* * *

**Pale-Colored Irises  
- chapter 4 -**

"Let's get this started." Ed announced, slipping on his gloves nonchalantly as he pretended not to notice the other man's embarrassed sputtering. "Surely, Colonel," He purred innocently, "You're not thinking of backing out now, are you?"

Roy forced out a smug smirk albeit with tinted cheeks, but berated himself that Ed wouldn't see it anyway, so he merely tried to speak as smugly as he could. "Of course not." If being squeaky was the same as smugly, anyway. He just hoped that the heavy rain still falling harshly on the pavement outside was enough to conceal the tone of his voice.

He hated the fact that his smirks had no effect at all to a blind man. He was actually proud of himself that he can simply tick people off with his smirks.

Ed, however, had all the freedom to smirk effectively. He didn't care that when Roy walked, there was an obvious stiffness in the way his feet sounded as it made contact with the floor, indicating the pain that was still on his back, but he was pretty sure that the renowned hero could deal with a little ache. They had already wasted enough time yesterday – Ed was actually planning on getting back to work after dinner but that plan was ruined by their hand towel incident – so they will continue this whether his customer liked it or not.

And it wasn't because he was ticked off by the fact that Roy said his cooking tasted like dog poop. Nope, not at all.

He led Roy to the basement, letting the other man go first before closing the door, making sure that when he locked it, the _click_ was loud and clear. He enjoyed the barely audible gulp that resounded in Roy's direction, wondering if the man was a virgin or not to be so timid.

"Shall we start?"

He argued with himself that he was **not** a sadist, but the squeaky _yes_ that he received was like music to his ears.

* * *

Roy stiffened when he felt the hand that was on his neck move to his shoulder, ignoring the dull throb by his backside as he did so. He tried to keep his mouth shut, but incoherent sounds still slipped past his lips, even though they were barely audible. Not that it mattered. With Edward this close, he could probably hear him breathing.

He held his breath when a hand rested on the point where his neck and shoulder met, feeling calloused fingers caressing his skin. He didn't know why he was so fidgety. He didn't need to be so uptight with this, it was just business, but he _was_. He was not a virgin, to make it clear. In fact, he was pretty much a ladies man.

But this person in front of him was obviously **not** a lady. He'd had numerous men feel him up as if thinking they had a chance with him – he scoffed – and left him disgusted and with a bad taste in his mouth, but this person here, having this person touch him here and there surprisingly didn't feel disgusting – which scared him – but it still felt weird – which made him a bit relieved.

A_ bit_.

Ed sighed exasperatedly. "What do I have to do to make you relax? Having you stiff is not going to do good for the result of your statue. Or are you **really** this stiff?"

Roy raised an eyebrow, "How **can** I relax?"

The blonde rolled his eyes, and once again, Roy wondered how a person's eyes could be so colorless. "Fine. Too bad for your statue then." Ed huffed, going on about his work, and Roy was back to stiffening and holding his breath. "What did you do, anyway? You know, to be such a hero and stuff."

"Ishbalian War." Roy replied simply, letting the memories of blood flow back in his mind.

"I **know **that." Ed scoffed, "If that's your answer, then why is it that all that people who fought in the Ishbalian War didn't manage to get their face on the front page of every newspaper in existence?"

The older man's lips tightened. "Trust me, being called a hero is not all glorious as it sounds." He drawled, intending to stop from there, but still couldn't resist the expectant look Ed gave him. "I managed to stop an attack to our Central base due to a conversation I overheard at some cheap club, and I also had to kill forty-two **groups **of innocent Ishbalians, _including_ women and children."

Edward stayed quiet, remembering the time when he was a soldier. He also became part of the Ishbalian War at its early stage, and would rather not relive the indecisiveness he felt when he killed that innocent woman in front of her little girl just because of some stupid order to exterminate all Ishbalians. He wasn't known by the name Edward Elric then. He wondered if Colonel Roy Mustang knows of the prodigy called Fullmetal Alchemist.

"You had no choice, right?" He shrugged, his hands moving to the other's upper arm. "You were only following some stupid order anyway."

Roy smiled lightly, "Yeah, a very stupid order, but an order, nonetheless."

"And a solider must always follow orders regardless of personal opinions, right, Colonel?" Ed let out a small smile of his own, repeating the same sentence his superiors always told him whenever he would argue about not doing orders because it didn't feel right to him.

"Very much so." Roy spoke, amusement in his voice, ignoring that little speck of curiosity in him to find out how Ed knew the exact words to the soldier's code. "And don't call me Colonel. We're not in the military, and it makes me uncomfortable."

Ed shrugged, finally reaching the other's chest. "Kind of makes you hate the military even more, huh?" He mumbled, but quickly continued, "Then what should I call you? Mr. Mustang? Mr. Roy? Mr. Roy Mustang?"

"Don't call me Mister." Roy retorted, ignoring yet again that first answer. "I'm not _that_ old."

"How could I have known?" Ed let himself smirk. "I can't see. For all I know, you have this really ugly, gray hair, _Mister Roy Mustang_."

"Very funny. I happen to **like** my hair because it's **not** ugly and gray." Roy rolled his eyes, trying not to grin. "And simply Roy."

"Fine then, _Roy_." Ed grinned, letting the name roll off his tongue with each sound. "I suppose I should return the favor. Just call me Edward, Ed, take your pick."

"Ed it is then." Roy smiled.

And the blonde smiled as well, letting his hands rest on the man's stomach. "Relaxed now?"

"I –" Roy blinked, for he was expecting another witty remark, but was surprised with the softly said question. He was even more surprised that he was indeed relaxed. He hasn't been stiff for the last few minutes and he was actually _breathing_. "Well… yes…"

But when Ed's hands reached his waistline, he was back to holding his breath for as long as he could.

**- tbc -**

* * *

**KK: **uhm… okay, you must all be wondering what I'm doing updating this early. XD Well, classes were suspended for two days because of some typhoon so I was all happy and jumping, and I guess that's probably where I got the energy to write this one. :p that, and my birthday's next week. X3 So yeah, I'm all bubbly and active this week, which is… kind of disturbing but hey, I'm actually doing something productive in this rainy season for once.

To be honest, I was actually planning on posting this next week. –sweatdrop- I would have posted this yesterday, but we didn't have internet then, so yeah… Again, thank you all so much! X3

**EDIT:** Sorry, I forgot to put the dividers (or whatchamallit) in, so I hope those who read the unedited version weren't confused. -sweatdrop-


	5. chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **Fullmetal Alchemist and all of its characters do not and never will belong to me.

* * *

**Pale-Colored Irises  
- chapter 4 -**

It was early in the night when Ed told him that they were finished for the day. The rain still poured relentlessly outside, dropping on the pavement like bombs, but Roy supposed he didn't mind. Neither did Ed. They liked to think that it would just make the job finish faster – **Keyword**: _liked to think._

For the rest of the afternoon, they spent their time in the basement, making conversation and whatnot. Needless to say, somewhere in the middle of those hours, Roy suffered.

He didn't know if it was because of the continuous playful taunting of the sculptor as he tensed with every touch, or if it was because that he was actually _liking_ those touches. It was disturbing to say – and he still turned scarlet at the very thought of it – but he tried to calm himself with thinking of the Fuhrer in a bikini.

That seemed to work.

After Ed dismissed him, he walked around the house aimlessly, since the blonde wouldn't let him see what the sculpture looked like so far. It was only after an hour or so that Ed walked out of the basement to take a bath.

So now, the two of them sat in the kitchen, eating pizza (paid by Roy), because Ed was still glaring daggers at him for saying yesterday that his cooking tasted like dog poop. And yes, Roy was desperately trying to envision the Fuhrer in a two-piece, lying on the sand with sweat and sea water glistening from his skin as Edward sat two feet away to his right, licking the cheese off his fingers.

The downside to being blind – Winry realized the hard way – that they were usually messy people. Thus, Winry took it upon herself to go down the blonde's house every week to do some general cleaning (because you never know if there's some peas under the fridge), but that was mainly one of her reasons that enabled her to enter Ed's house, because after that incident with her trying to make him drink milk while he was sleeping, he tried everything to keep her from entering.

And now, as Roy watched painfully as Ed slowly licked his pointing finger, he didn't think it was such a downside after all. He knew that it was such a monster of him to say, but thank goodness Ed was blind.

"Roy?"

He jumped, startled. "Yes?" He said stiffly, before he saw it. He saw **it** – that devilish, smug smirk playing on the other's lips.

"You're breathing a bit irregularly." Ed replied, voice as innocent as a little child, as he gave his finger one last lick before facing the other side, snickering quietly as he resumed eating his pizza.

And Roy sat bewildered, as his brain registered the fact that the other man had been teasing him the whole night. The insufferable bastard. But Roy Mustang was never one to back down. Clearing his throat, he put his half-eaten pizza back in the box, "Am I? I apologize, I'm just tired."

When Ed turned to him with a confused expression – he had expected the other to sputter embarrassedly yet again for the umpteenth time that night – Roy found the right moment to act.

He stood up, walking a few steps so that he was in front of the other. He leaned forward, and was satisfied with the surprised squeak as he put his knee in between Ed's open legs. "You have some cheese on your cheek."

Of course, Ed didn't really have cheese on his cheek, but neither of them cared as Roy leaned down and dragged his tongue slowly against his skin, and Ed – even though he knew he would slap himself for it later – moaned deep in his throat.

But such moments weren't meant to last as Winry chose that specific moment to open the door with a plate of pieces of watermelons in hand – before stepping out again with a red face, closing the door behind her and screaming an apology that made neighbors go out of their houses and look.

"I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE HAVING GAY SEX!"

Thus, Roy spent the rest of the night listening to Ed mutter under his breath ways to bring about the murder of a certain friend that goes by the name Winry Rockbell.

* * *

"I just remembered." Ed suddenly said, half because there was nothing to do and half because he wanted to get rid of the awkwardness in the air from their earlier predicament. "The one who called me about your statue… said that you managed to save the Fuhrer's life."

To his surprise, Roy simply let out a thoughtful sigh, "Did they?"

Ed raised an eyebrow. Roy shrugged. "You know… they wouldn't have given me the opportunity to have my statue inside the Central Headquarters just for having stopped that attack on HQ."

And then, Ed understood. A small smirk played on his lips, but it wasn't directed at Roy at all. "Fuhrer this, Fuhrer that, huh?"

Long time ago, when he was still known as the Fullmetal Alchemist, higher officials didn't regard as high and mighty like the rest. They would have, though, if his works included doing something that was advantageous to the Fuhrer. He marveled at the thought that it's been years already, but the military still hasn't changed one bit.

"You…" Roy blinked, looking at him strangely as if trying to figure him out. "It's like you know everything about the military."

Ed smiled slightly. "Maybe. Stories from customers, you know?" He said, but both of them knew it was a lie.

* * *

It was 2 AM. Roy found himself getting out of bed, and slipping on his shoes (Ed offered him some guest slippers, but he refused.). He stumbled out the door sleepily, thinking that Ed was asleep so he tiptoed his way downstairs for a glass of water. When he passed by the door to the basement, he paused. There were no light underneath the door, but blind people don't necessarily rely on light to walk around, do they?

Surely it wouldn't hurt just to take a peek? After all, it was _his _statue. For all he knew, his nose might be crooked, and he certainly didn't want that shown publicly in the middle of Central Headquarters.

He opened the door silently, letting his eyes get adjusted to the new darkness of the basement. He grabbed hold of the railing as he walked his way down the stairs, his arm in front of him in case he was to bump into something. Was this how Ed felt about being blind?

He grabbed at the wall, touching aimlessly as he tried to find the light switch. Feeling something under his hand, he flipped the switch on. He looked around, but there were no statue. There was only a tall thing covered in white cloth, and an Edward behind his desk. He turned crimson at being caught red-handed, but was reminded yet again of the fact that even if he did open the lights, Ed wouldn't see them anyway.

Then again, even if Ed _could _see, he wouldn't have realized that Roy was there because he was fast asleep, snoring away as his head lay uncomfortably on the surface of his desk, hands still covered with clay – and Roy found himself staring.

With a sigh, he walked towards the other man, looking away nervously. He wanted to wake Ed up, but couldn't bring himself to do so, and he certainly just can't leave and go back to sleep knowing that Ed was sleeping, but so very uncomfortably.

So he stood there, contemplating on what to do as he stared at Edward's sleeping face.

In the end, he carried Edward – who was heavy but nothing he can't handle – up and off his chair, up the basement, up the stairs, and into his room. Never mind the fact that he was blushing the whole time and wondering what to say tomorrow if Ed asked how he got to his bedroom.

With Ed tucked snuggly under his blankets, Roy turned to leave – but paused as he caught sight of a vase with beautiful, yellow irises and beside it, a picture of two young boys with big, innocent grins.

He knew well enough to say that one of those boys was Edward.

Who was the other?

* * *

**KK: **This one's kind of poorly written, so I apologize for that. –sweatdrop- And I'll try to do Ed's turn of blushing and sputtering in the next chapter, because I think I've tortured Roy enough. XD And thanks to everyone who greeted me a happy birthday, because that made me all cheerful throughout the whole week:3 Once again, thank you, too, for all the reviews because it makes me feel loved and giddy, so please review! XD


	6. chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **Fullmetal Alchemist and all of its characters do not and never will belong to me.

* * *

**Pale-Colored Irises**

**- chapter 6 -**

It had been hours since Roy left Edward Elric's household, and truth be told, he was getting restless. He didn't know _why_, either. Why would he be so unsettled leaving a stranger's house? He can't even focus on his work. He let out a small smile, wondering what excuse he can give to First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye in the morning for his unfinished paperwork.

The Colonel leaned back further in his seat in his office, setting his pen down and leaving his work unattended as he let his mind wander.

Really... _why _was he disturbed?

It was only business, after all. It just so happened that he got stranded in the house during a storm and any unneccesary interaction made within that span of time can be considered meaningless.

Roy sighed.

It looks like denial isn't on his side tonight.

"Good evening, _Taisa_."

Roy looked up in surprise, blinking as Second Lieutenant Havoc walked inside the office, posture slouched and a cigarette dangling lazily from his lips. "Havoc. You didn't knock." He frowned.

Havoc stared at him. "I did. You didn't answer, so I thought something was wrong, but it looks like you just dozed off a bit, Colonel." He lifted a hand to fix the cigarette between two fingers, subtly covering a grin in the process.

Roy resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but instead settled for a smug smirk. At last, someone who can actually see and feel the power of his infamous smirk. "You're obviously happy tonight, Havoc. How's Clara?"

The man in front of him stiffened, glaring at him sulkily through slitted eyes. "She dumped me." He said finally, quite morosely, his actions and words screaming accusations at the man in front of him who simply proceeded to look innocent.

"Ah, I wonder why." Roy grinned, ignoring the death glares that were currently trying to stab his thick skull.

"Yes, I wonder why." Havoc drawled dryly. In a desperate attempt to swerve the conversation away from his poor and pitiful lovelife, he presented a small folder and put it in front of the Colonel on the desk.

Roy raised an eyebrow. "I didn't give you any assignments."

"No." Havoc shrugged, taking a long drab out of his cigarette. "But I just thought it might interest you." He grinned lazily.

Sighing, Roy took the folder in his hands. "This better not be more paperwork or I'll personally burn all your cigarette stock."

Havoc squeaked, hands swinging down to his pocket to protect the remainder of his cigarette pack. "Not paperwork. That's definitely not paperwork." He nodded, as if trying to assure himself.

Roy smirked. "What's it about then?"

"Well," The other man started, "It's about Edward Elric."

* * *

"Where's your boyfriend?"

Ed didn't even need to ask to know who was brave enough to march inside the renowed sculptor Edward Elric's house uninvited. "I don't have a boyfriend, Winry. Besides, instead of worrying about my lovelife," He let a sly smile form on his lips, "What about yours?"

Something hard collided with the back of his skull and again, he didn't even need to ask to know that it was Winry Rockbell's most trusted wrench, made especially for hitting smug blondes and making them fall to the floor in pain. "WINRY!"

Winry huffed. "I'll have you know that there are a lot of gorgeous men out there who would _kill _just to hold my hand."

"It's just too bad that they don't see the fact that your hand will be the one to kill _them_. Honestly, nobody would think you were a girl with that massive hand of yours and all those calluses. Don't you use some lotion or something? I'm a sculptor, and even _I _have better hands than -- YES, I'LL STOP NOW SO STOP HITTING ME, DAMN -- OW!"

The girl smiled gleefully. "Good. Now as I was saying, where's your boyfriend?"

Ed glared at her -- at least, _tried _to glare at her as he only guessed her location from her voice. "I'm not gay."

Winry blinked. "You're admitting you're asexual then? Or are you those types who self-breeds or something?"

Ed turned beet red. "THERE IS NO SUCH THING!"

Winry smiled, absolutely enjoying the humiliation her friend was suffering. Truth be told, she was actually happy for the storm because that got Ed to talk to somebody else besides her and his teddy bear. (Oh, Ed didn't know that she knew, but Winry had long since treasured the knowledge that her friend was keeping a teddy bear by the name of "Pomato" in his bedside table, top drawer.) And yes, she finds the idea of Colonel Roy Mustang getting stranded in Edward Elric's house very amusing, because it gave her a chance to prove to the world that the sculptor _did _have hormones, too. (She and Pinako have been arguing about it for months now.)

"Yes, there are." She sang cheerfully.

Ed sighed exasperatedly. "Winry, why are you here again?"

Winry grinned. "To ask about your boyfriend, of course!"

Ed rolled his eyes. "For the last time, I don't have a boyfriend. But since I just _happen _to know that it's Colonel Roy Mustang you're referring to, I'll tell you that he left earlier this morning when his driver picked him up, saying something about overdue papers. He will be back tomorrow or the day after, or whatever. And, since I also just _happen _to know your next question, no, we did not have gay sex in the middle of the night."

"Damn. That's too bad."

"Yes, it really is." Ed drawled sarcastically, "Now if you don't mind --"

"REALLY? You really think it's too bad?" Winry squealed, simply doing this for the sake of annoying her friend and because his embarrassed face just looks so cute. "Aww, then you should hurry up and get laid, because I simply can't wait to be the aunt of your children!"

Ed looked absolutely flabbergasted, images of _getting laid _and _making babies _flashing behind his eyelids. Even though those images passed by like wisps of air, it didn't help that those images were overly detailed and seemed to imprint themselves on his skull. "Even if I did have children, I won't be stupid enough to make you their aunt. And Winry, men can't have babies together --"

"OH, YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE BABIES TOGETHER? THAT WOULD BE SO CUUUUTTTE!"

Ed, since he had been a soldier a long, long time ago, had always known when to keep fighting and when to give up, and obviously, now was the time to drop all guns and surrender.

* * *

Roy felt his jaw drop. Actually, his jaw had dropped already a few minutes ago, and was just dropping a few more centimeters down, but he simply can't be bothered to fix his mouth right now. "Havoc, are you sure this is correct?"

"Well," Havoc shrugged, "The guy's profile _is _considered secret by the military so I'm not really sure, but I'd bet my money on it." He would have bet his cigarettes, but that was too risky.

Roy raised an eyebrow. "If it's considered a secret, how did you get hold of this information?"

Havoc stiffened, coughing nervously. "Err... _Taisa_, you're not going to tell anyone, are you? I'm not supposed to be scurrying around looking for top-secret files on previous military officials."

The older man smiled. "Your secret's safe with me. I happen to appreciate the art of scurrying around, as long as the information gets past me one way or the other."

Havoc looked at him, before giving out a small laugh. "Yes, _Taisa_. I'll try to look more about Edward Elric."

"No." Roy shook his head. "Don't look for Edward Elric. That'll only give you references to his sculptures." He continued, giving his officer a meaningful look.

"Yes, Colonel?"

"Instead, look for the Fullmetal Alchemist."

* * *

**KK: **not much of a chapter, I know, but please bear with me. I know I haven't been updating well much, but I'll try to update soon. School's been getting hectic and I am currently itching to burn all my books. Anyone care to do my homework for me? XD Anyway, I like Winry in this one. I just hope she wasn't too OOC. Havoc, too. I'm not used to writing Havoc, so please tell me if he's OOC on this one, and I'd gladly appreciate any help that could help me improve. :p

I should go to sleep. School tomorrow!

Thank you again for all the reviews!


	7. chapter 7

**Disclaimer: **Fullmetal Alchemist and all of its characters do not and never will belong to me.

* * *

**Pale-colored Irises**  
**- chapter 7 -**

"Ed?" Winry stepped inside the house, looking around curiously before closing the door behind her as she entered the living room. "Ed, are you there?" The house was quiet, but Winry was used to the eerie silence that seemed to have hanged inside this certain household ever since she could remember.

In fact, she would often reminisce about her childhood days whenever she would treat this house as a refuge of lost spirits. Her childhood days came and went, as well as did her childish beliefs. It was only a few years later that as she stopped by to revisit this so-called haunted house did she get the scare of her life to suddenly find someone living in it with blonde hair and transparent irises. Turns out, this _ghost _was a man named Edward Elric who just recently moved in. He was friendly and such, and they got along just fine, even if he was a tad bit touchy.

She snorted. Touchy was an understatement.

Although they had their arguments, she was rather protective of the blonde. With the way he sulked around his house every day of the year, who wouldn't be worried? But after several failed attempts to force the guy out of his house, Winry did some snooping around, tried to smuggle a few answers out of him, and all she managed to get was the obvious facts: he had parents and a younger brother.

Where they were, however, was a mystery that Ed was extra careful never to reveal.

She smiled at the flowers in her hand as she walked across the room to the door that led to the basement.

Yellow irises. A symbol that represents passion.

She didn't know much about the case of Ed's attachment to yellow irises, all she knew was that the man loved having them inside his house, and she loved providing it for him.

It was a comfort thing, really.

"Ed?" She poked her head through the crack of the door, looking down the stairs as she tried to get used to the lack of light. She walked down the stairs slowly, being careful not to trip or slip. It got brighter as she descended, the room lit by the small cracks of sunlight coming through the walls.

In her mind, she was rehearsing various ways to get Ed to sputter and squeak and look very much like a tomato, but as she reached the last step and looked around the room, all those thoughts instantly vanished.

The room was a mess.

Pieces of stone were littered on the floor and some of the statues that had once stood proudly around the room covered the floor in a heap of dust. But she could care less about that. Her eyes scanned the room.

At last, she felt the color drain away from her face as her eyes caught sight of the figure lying motionless in the middle of the room, halfway buried in hardened clay.

"ED!"

* * *

"Colonel." Riza spoke as calmly as she could. "You're ignoring your paperwork again."

Roy looked at her innocently, gesturing to the papers in his hands. "I'm currently doing them right now."

"Yes, those are papers, but when I say _paperwork_, I mean papers that actually help you do your job. Let me remind you that your next assignments are about the damage caused by the Ishbal War and how to increase security in the eastern part of the city." Riza took a deep breath, "And I don't think the Fullmetal Alchemist is included in those topics."

Roy twitched. Sometimes he even believed that Riza Hawkeye was a way, way higher officer than him sent by the Higher Officials undercover as a First Lieutenant just to make sure he didn't slack off.

"Yes, err..." He cleared his throat. "I'll have you know, the renowned Fullmetal Alchemist _did _play a part in the early stages of the Ishbal War, and seeing as he is now retired, he is also currently residing in the eastern part of the city."

If it weren't for the fact that Riza Hawkeye did not roll her eyes, she would have rolled her eyes right now. She sighed, "Seeing as I won't be able to talk you out of this, Colonel…" She presented him a folder.

"What's this?" Roy took the folder cautiously, unless it was some sort of trap to force him to actually _do _his job.

Riza smiled slightly in amusement. "Detailed files of the military regarding the Fullmetal Alchemist and his success missions. He is well known for putting the most dangerous criminals behind bars, and exposing corrupt politicians. Apparently, he was also well loved by the people during his time. And of course, one cannot speak of Edward Elric without also speaking of Alphonse Elric."

Roy marveled at his secretary's formal vocabulary. "You managed to get all that?"

The woman coughed nervously. "Unknown and unseen, of course."

Roy let out a small smile. He really did have the best officers anyone could have. "Thank you. Now, what was that about Alphonse Elric?"

Riza straightened, raising one delicate eyebrow. "Alphonse Elric. Edward Elric's little brother. Back then, it was almost impossible to talk about one of them without mentioning the other. True that Edward was the only one registered in the military, but his brother went with him wherever he went, on or off duty."

The man's lips were a thin line as he processed this information carefully. "When I was at his house, the only thing I have as proof was that I saw a picture of two boys fishing, one of them who was undoubtedly Ed. Other than that, I don't know about Alphonse."

Riza nodded. "Apparently, nobody knows about him either. That is, nobody knows what _happened_ to him. Nobody has seen him for a long time, but there are no reports of his death anywhere. The military keeps a tight security with those kind of information, as well as matters concerning the abrupt end of the Fullmetal Alchemist's career."

Roy let out a thoughtful hum as he leaned back in his chair. It made him a bit guilty to know that he was snooping around another person's life, but hey, it was business, wasn't it? It was his right to know at least a little thing or two. Unfortunately, that little thought didn't help him at all and made him even guiltier.

Yet, he gave Riza a grateful smile, "Good job."

Riza let out a small smile of her own, saluting before turning to leave the room. Once at the door, however, she paused. "And Colonel?"

"Yes?"

"Do your paperwork."

* * *

"Colonel Roy Mustang?"

Roy looked up from his work, only to raise an eyebrow at the woman entering the room. "Yes?"

The woman saluted, before motioning to the phone on the man's desk. "There's a call waiting for you."

Roy nodded, dismissing her and waiting until the door was clicked shut before grabbing the receiver. "Yes, this is Colonel Roy Mustang."

A familiar voice resounded from the other line. "Colonel?"

And Roy's eyes widened as he remembered the particular owner of that voice. How could he forget? It was the same voice who so subtly announced to the world that he and Edward Elric were having gay sex. "Winry Rockbell, I presume?"

"Yes." The voice seemed a bit… unnerved. "I hope you're doing fine, Colonel. Well, you see, I'm calling to inform you that your meeting with Ed will be delayed for a week or so. We're terribly sorry."

If it wasn't for the fact that he was worried that Winry was worried, he would have been amused that the girl actually knew how to perform business. It looked like Ed had a secretary of his own. "May I ask what happened?"

"Well…" Winry trailed off. "Ed suffered a small accident and the doctor advised that he rest around for a while." Then, she muttered, "As if he didn't rest enough with that laid-back attitude of his."

Again, fighting of his amusement, he asked. "Is Edward alright, then?" Surprisingly, he found himself actually_ worried_.

"Yes, err… no." Winry coughed nervously. "He'll be fine. Just a few rounds of sleep and plenty of rest, but he's not allowed to stress himself at least for a week. So I'm really sorry to say that your statue will be delayed. Ed said that you can continue next Monday. Although, if you want," There was that hint of slyness in the girl's voice that Roy had grown to fear. "You can visit him _anytime_."

Roy turned red. "Yes, I'll do that. Tell Ed to get better."

There was a small, muffled squeal on the other line. "So you'll come?"

Roy resisted the urge to smile. Truth be told, his schedule was actually very hectic this week, but maybe he could squeeze in just a few more hours. "Yes, tomorrow noon probably. Is that alright?"

"Of course!" Even though he couldn't see her, he was pretty sure that she was smiling dreamily right now with loads of pink sparkles around her. It reminded him of a certain Major. Winry continued, "I'll prepare lunch then. I'll tell Ed the good news! It was nice to talk to you, Colonel!"

Roy nodded, but knew that no one would be able to see him. "Yes, thank you for calling." And with a sigh, he put the phone down and picked up his pen.

Unfortunately for him, thoughts of what might have happened to Ed plagued his mind and thus he prepared himself for another lecture from Riza about finishing the paperwork.

* * *

**KK: **I've finished this days ago, but only found the time to post it today. X3 I'm happy with this chapter. At least I can say that this actually had a purpose or something. –shifty eyes- Again, I'm not used to using Riza, so please tell me if she's OOC. And yes, I'm using Winry too much, but I don't want to Roy and Ed to talk to each other just yet for no apparent reason. XD;; Yes, I'm weird like that.

And yes, about my problem with tenses, I get that a lot. –sweat drop- I'll try to improve, so please bear with me, and point out my mistakes.

Again, thank you for all the reviews! and also to those who so graciously volunteered to do my homework for me, but i'll manage. XD


	8. chapter 8

**Pale-Colored Irises**

**- chapter 8 -**

"Good morning, Colonel." Winry chirped, opening the door wider to let the man in.

Roy walked in the living room slowly, clearly aware that it was just like visiting a friend. He wondered if two days of being stranded by the storm was enough to make friends with a complete stranger. "Good morning, Miss Rockbell." He smiled a bit when Winry crinkled her nose in disgust.

"Oh, pshaw. Winry is just fine. Lunch will be ready soon." She grinned, before pointing up the stairs. "Ed's in his room. I suppose you know his room, right?"

Roy nodded. "Yes, though I do wonder what I'm supposed to say to him once I'm there." He offered a tight smile, and started to walk up the stairs before Winry's reply made him freeze and gawk.

"Oh, I don't know." Winry said dryly, albeit a bit slyly. "How about _if you're not badly hurt, let's go have hot, gay sex together_? That wouldn't be too hard, right?"

Roy turned beet red. "Is gay sex all you ever think about?"

"Concerning Ed who I once thought was asexual or could actually self-breed?" Winry cackled. "Yes."

The man coughed embarrassedly. "Yes, well. If you'll excuse me."

Winry's voice followed him throughout the staircase. "Oh, don't worry about me. Make all the noise you want."

He could practically feel her wide, triumphant grin burning holes on his uniform.

As soon as Winry heard the door to Ed's room open and close with a click, her smile immediately dropped. With an abrupt turn, she strode her way across the room to enter the kitchen. With her jaw clenched, she glared at the man in the middle of the kitchen with all the hatred there was in her heart.

She spat. "What do you want, _Envy_?"

* * *

"Ed." Roy swallowed, looking around the room and wondering why the hell it was so dark and if there were any windows open. Oh, that's right. Blind people didn't need light. He blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the darkness, and relaxing when the blurred figure of the bed came into view. "Are you awake?" 

A dry, rasped voice greeted him. "I am now."

Roy heard the shuffling of sheets and concluded that Ed was sitting up. "Can I ask what happened?"

There was a few more shuffling heard, before Roy nearly jumped when a lamp suddenly lit up on the bedside table. "There's a lamp?"

Ed shrugged. "Winry." He simply said. "And I must apologize, Colonel." He looked almost… embarrassed. "I think I broke your statue."

"What?" Roy raised one delicate eyebrow, before quickly adding, "It's alright. We can make a new one, right?" He pushed all dread about all the touching and feeling to the back of his head and desperately tried to will his blush away, even if he knew the blonde wouldn't be able to see it anyway. "Don't worry about the statue." He offered. "Now, what happened to _you_?"

Ed shrugged yet again. "Stupidity stroke." He said, the faintest hint of a slightly abashed smile on his lips. "Slipped. Fell on a statue. Then a domino thing happened."

Roy nodded, and then remembered it wouldn't be seen. "I see." He finished lamely. He remembered the statues standing like sentinels all around the basement a.k.a. Ed's working area. "So any serious damage?"

"A scratch on the head. Broken ribs. Nothing big."

"Nothing big?"

Ed wanted to say that he had experienced far worse injuries during his times as a dog of the military, but decided to keep his mouth shut. "At least I didn't break my neck, right?"

Roy smiled thinly. "Right." He walked closer to the bed, wanting to get a closer look at Ed's injuries – and guess what?

Stupidity stroke.

It was either stupidity or the Fates playing with them.

At the exact same time Roy leaned down, Ed chose that moment to sit up more properly and more straighter. Ed only realized his mistake when his head hit something hard, and a muffled yelp above him was heard. "Roy?" He didn't really know what he'd hit. If he hit the Colonel in some way, well… he still hadn't forgiven him completely for calling his cooking dog food anyway.

Roy clamped both his hands on his nose, tears stinging the back of his eyes as he bit his lip to keep from cursing the poor blonde into the next century. With a cough, he crinkled his nose, moaning inwardly as the pain on the center of his face increased.

"Roy?" Ed asked again. "Are you alright?"

Roy coughed. "Peachy."

* * *

"Well, how is it?" Winry chirped happily, watching as Roy and Ed each took a bite of her cooked lunch. 

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Tastes like dog poop." He stated dryly, giving Roy (or giving the place where he thought Roy was) a glare.

Roy shrugged. "Cat litter."

That earned them wrenches colliding with the sides of their skulls.

* * *

**PLZ READ!!!!one!111!!!**

**plzkthnxbai.  
**

**KK: **Before I start, let me say that you can throw tomatoes at me later, so listen for a while. XD

(if you've noticed, this isn't really a chapter. it's just a sad, sad excuse to tell you something because if i didn't put a chapter, the site would ban me. XD;; )

The reason I didn't update for a long time is that the exams were up, and I also wasn't sure if I was going to continue this or not, but you know, I sort of fell in love with this fic, so I'm going to continue it, but I want to be sure if you guys like it this way, or if you want a rewrite.

Because I'm not really satisfied, so I've been thinking of rewriting it to make it better, I guess.

But it's really up to you, so yeah. X3

You can throw tomatoes at me now. D:

If you want to continue it like this, I'll try to update this week or the next.

Again, thank you for all the support!


	9. chapter 9

**Disclaimer: **Fullmetal Alchemist and all of its characters do not and never will belong to me.

* * *

**Pale-Colored Irises  
- chapter 9 -**

Roy didn't know why he was still so curious about the Fullmetal Alchemist. So far, he already had files about the throughout military career of the renowned child prodigy. Also, he had just finished reading the detailed reports on **all **of the missions that the Fullmetal undertook during his time in the military, courtesy of Hawkeye.

It was inevitable that he also encountered mentions of Alphonse Elric, but nothing too important. There were also mentions of officers that were still active in the military in the reports, so Roy pretty much fought an internal battle with himself if he should ask those officers about the Fullmetal Alchemist. He wondered if it would arouse suspicion.

_Probably_, seeing as after the Fullmetal Alchemist finished his military career, the military threw his identity away behind closed doors and pretty much denied his existence. Most definitely, too, since almost everyone knew of his upcoming statue. If those officers knew that the Fullmetal Alchemist and Edward Elric were the same person, there would definitely questions on his sudden curiosity.

Also, there were only a few officers that were in the military two years ago during the Fullmetal's time and are still active. Most of the officers back then either died in the Ishbal War or quit _after _the Ishbal War.

Although Roy probably knew _everything _about Ed's military persona, the things he wanted so desperately to know about but just can't find any references to were the beginning and ending of the Fullmetal Alchemist.

He sighed.

Why was he getting so worked up anyway?

Maybe he was doing all this for nothing. Maybe if he just stepped up and asked Ed right away, Ed would answer him and give him everything he needed to know. He doubted it, though.

Somewhere in the back of his mind lay guilt about minding another person's personal business so much. It ate at him.

The guilt pretty much grew slowly but surely as each day passed that Roy wondered if maybe he should just step out and tell Ed he knew who the Fullmetal Alchemist was. That's all.

He sighed. He could just hear the conversation unfolding in his head now.

"_You know what, Edward? I know that you're the renowned child prodigy of the military, the Fullmetal Alchemist."_

"_How did you know?"_

"_Oh, you know… I dug up some old files about you so I can learn more about your life and pretty much invade your personal matters. Yes, I'm a stalker, I know. Except for the part where I follow you around everywhere, which I don't do. Really, I don't. I swear."_

He shuddered.

Again, he wondered why he was getting so worked up.

He certainly didn't think much of the Fullmetal Alchemist. He admitted that he was more interested in Edward Elric. It was because of that interest that made him want to know more about him, thus making him want to know more about his military persona as well. He found that knowing about the Fullmetal Alchemist just made Edward Elric more interesting.

He was curious enough to want to know about _everything _that concerned Edward Elric.

The past didn't matter, right? The Fullmetal Alchemist is now Edward Elric, a famous international sculptor. That was all that mattered… but Roy's curiosity just won't let that be.

He knew that he'll have to pay dearly for his curiosity later, but as of the moment, all he cared about was having his questions answered.

How did Ed end up serving the military at such a young age? Why did Ed leave the military when he was obviously so successful then? Why did the military keep his military career a secret when they should be boasting his existence because of his contributions? Why is the military so tight on his files? Why didn't Ed at least tell him that he was part of the military a long time ago?

His eyes traveled back to the files that he had just finished reading about the detailed reports of the Fullmetal's missions. None of them mentioned or even pointed to his handicapped state. Maybe reports didn't need that kind of information? But he read about _how _the missions were finished, and none of them seemed to be done by a blind man.

He frowned.

More questions flooded his brain.

Who is Alphonse Elric? What happened to Alphonse Elric?

Why is Edward Elric blind?

"Colonel?"

Roy's head shot up in surprise and his hand automatically reached for the files to hide them, but halfway through his panic, his brain registered that it was just his First Lieutenant by the door. "Hawkeye." He sighed. "Next time, knock properly." He smiled warily.

"I did." Riza frowned. "Second Lieutenant Havoc was right when he said that knocking is useless. Don't overwork yourself."

Roy gave her a pointed look. "And this is coming from you, the person who makes me slave over paperwork?"

Riza smiled thinly, and chose to ignore that. "Colonel, I'm here regarding the earlier… files." Her eyes wandered over the files underneath the man's palm on the desk.

Roy looked at her. "Yes?"

Riza started with an anxious shrug. "I'm sure you've taken note of the officers from the Ishbal War that are still active?"

Roy nodded slowly.

Riza continued. "And I'm also sure that you know that it will arouse suspicion if you ask them about the Fullmetal Alchemist?"

"You know me so well, I get scared sometimes." Roy smiled, but motioned for her to continue.

She did. "I know one officer that might give you information."

That got his full attention. "Who?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes."

* * *

Ed was having a hard time sleeping. 

Ever since those pounds of clay fell on him, he hasn't slept properly. He knew it wasn't really doing wonders for his health, but it's not like he can _force _himself to sleep. He wondered if Winry's punch would be enough to doze him. It was just too bad that he had already grown used to her wrench to fall unconscious even with such strength.

He sighed and opened his eyes.

More darkness.

Ever since he had gone blind, it had always been darkness.

He didn't really dwell on it much, but there was a reason why he hated mornings and why he kept the windows shut. It wasn't because that he was blind he wouldn't see what was outside the windows anyway. Not that.

He didn't want the windows open because he didn't want the sunlight seeping in his house and dancing on his skin. He'd feel the warmth, but he'd never see the light.

That irked him the most.

"What's wrong, _Edward_?"

Ed's blood turned cold.

That voice sent him shivers.

That's right.

It was _that _voice that deprived him of sleep.

He'd know that voice _anywhere_.

After all, it was the same voice that caused several of his ribs to break.

He hissed. "_Envy_."

"That's my name." Suddenly, the voice that seemed to come from the corner of the room was suddenly near his ear, and Ed shuddered as hot breath danced on his skin. "Or have you forgotten about me already, _little brother_?"

Given the gravity of the situation, Ed found some morbid humor in himself to smirk. "And here I thought you didn't care about me, _brother_. I didn't even know you've accepted the inevitable fact that we're blood-related." He stated dryly.

That earned him a sharp smack across his jaw that made his bones crack and sent his neck at an awkward angle.

"It would give me _much _pleasure just to kill you right now." The voice hissed.

Ed could just imagine him shape shifting to numerous body shapes frantically, frustrated that his shape shifting ability can't give emotional stress to a blind man. He vaguely remembered Envy playing with him back then when he still had his sight. He'd transform into Trisha Elric or Alphonse Elric and make it look as if they were committing suicide over and over again.

Somehow, Ed was glad he was blind.

"Then do it."

Envy cackled. "That would be too boring, _Ed_." He spat his name as if it was the most disgusting thing in the world. "Simply too boring."

"You could have killed me with that little statues _accident_." Ed hissed, mentioning the little accident that happened in his basement.

"But I didn't." Envy sneered. "At least be grateful for that."

Ed scoffed. "Why the hell are you _here_?"

Envy gave a mock gasp. "Aren't I allowed to visit my brother, anymore?"

Sometimes, Ed wished he was deaf, too.

Sure, he can't _see_ Envy, but he can still _hear_ him. And hearing Al's voice after such a long time made his heart break.

He hissed.

But Envy was already gone.

"Sleep well, brother."

Al's voice echoed throughout the room, and Ed lay on his bed moaning pitifully as he desperately tried droning the sound out. The voice was gone, yet the sound still lingered in his ears, and it was then that he knew that he probably won't be getting a good night's sleep again this time.

He sighed, rubbing his temples.

Envy would be back soon.

He just knew it.

* * *

"ROY! You should see my little Elysia! She's so cute in her little bear pajamas!" 

Roy twitched. "Hughes…" It had been fifteen minutes since he made the call, and all he'd been hearing at the other end of the line was how cute Elysia looked in her pajamas. Don't get him wrong. He loved Elysia with all his heart, but sometimes he just wanted to tape her father's mouth shut and throw his camera to the very pits of the Earth's core.

He was grateful though when Hughes finally took pity on him and talked business for once. "So, what makes Colonel Roy Mustang call me at 11 AM?"

Roy sighed. "I need some information."

"Ask away!"

"_Private _information." Roy said. "About Edward Elric's military persona."

There was a pause. "Who?"

"You experienced the middle stages of the Ishbal War. You know who I'm talking about." He pressed his lips firmly. He didn't want to mention anything about _Fullmetal _just in case some wiretapping was going on.

Roy could just feel Hughes' lazy smile at the other end of the line. "Why the sudden curiosity?"

"Hughes." Roy sighed impatiently.

Hughes chuckled. "Central HQ, right? I'll be there in half an hour."

Roy sighed in relief and smiled to himself. Hughes could sometimes be annoying in his Kodak tendencies, but other than that, he was a good friend (who, by the way, helped him pursue his stalking career).

He waited for the other line to go dead, but it didn't.

Instead, Hughes' voice entered his ears once again.

"But seriously Roy, Elysia looks so _cute _in her little bear pajamas!"

* * *

**KK: **omg, I can't believe I stayed up for this. XD it's 4 AM. I need to sleep. 

okay, so no rewrite. X3 well, I agree with what most of you said. If I did do a rewrite, it would take ages for me to get to this point of the story. –sweatdrop- but I'm so happy that a lot of you still supports this story even though the author is lazy and can't get her lazy ass off her chair when needed. –hugs-

Okay, to clear things up...Ed's 21, and he left the military when he was 19. The Ishbal War also ended when he was 19, as stated in the first chapter. I've also edited chapter 8 so that the part about Pinako is gone. I originally started that chapter with the intent of including Pinako in the story, but decided otherwise halfway through writing it, so I forgot to take that little bit out. It's fixed now!

Also, because I'm stupid, have I ever mentioned Roy's age in the story? I've re-read the story, but I tend not to notice additional information like that sometimes so yeah… -sweatdrop-

**EDIT: **I fixed Hughes' rank. x3 thank you to those who mentioned it!

Other than that, please tell me if there's typos or grammar mistakes (especially tenses… who the hell invented tenses anyway?). Not much humor in this one, huh:p

Again, thank you for everything, and please review! –love-


	10. chapter 10

**Disclaimer: **Fullmetal Alchemist and all of its characters do not and never will belong to me.

* * *

**Pale-Colored Irises  
- chapter 10 -**

Hughes arrived at Roy's office forty-five minutes after their call, so by the time he had stepped inside, Roy's nerves were almost dead from exhaustion by being alert the whole day. He amused himself with his friend's anxiousness, and the tendency of his pink finger to twitch with each tentative step he took. "So, _Colonel_." He grinned cheekily. "What do you want to know?"

Roy sighed heavily. "Be serious, Hughes."

"Oh?" Hughes was liking every minute of this. "What is it about Edward Elric that it so important that makes Roy Mustang tell his very best friend to be serious?" By the now furious twitching of Roy's pinky, Hughes knew that he was seriously getting under his skin. With a casual smile, he plopped down a chair, and crossed his arms. "Okay, I'm serious."

Roy muttered a gratuitous note. "Now…" He blinked, racking his head up for a question. He realized that he actually had a lot of questions that he didn't know where to start. "How did the Fullmetal Alchemist start?"

Hughes opened his mouth to reply.

Simultaneously, the door burst open.

Both of Hughes' and Roy's blood turned cold.

Frank Archer stood in the doorway, raising an eyebrow at them and looking all high and mighty. His sharp eyes traveled around the room, until he spotted Hughes sitting in front of Roy's desk, and his thin mouth formed a quirky smile. "Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes. I thought you're shift is over?"

Hughes smiled thickly, yet leaned back casually. "An issue came up. You know about that Ishbal uprising downtown?"

"Ah. I see." Frank nodded, and turned to Roy. "Yes, I do believe that the _National Hero _is the wisest choice when asking for help about Ishbalians." He was trying his best not to sneer, Roy was sure of it.

The Flame Alchemist swallowed his smart remarks and gave out his ever-famous smirk. "Well, Lieutenant Colonel Archer. What brings you here at this time of night?"

Frank bowed his head slightly. "Yes. Well, there are some files missing in the library." He paused. "Those files are very confidential, so we ask of you to keep our search a secret. But I'm here to ask if you know anything about them?" His eyes glinted. "Files about the _Fullmetal Alchemist_?"

Roy's back went stiff.

Hughes sensed it almost immediately. "I'm sorry. We don't know anything about it." He said, smiling apologetically. "Sorry we couldn't be of much help, Lieutenant Colonel."

Frank nodded. "Colonel Mustang?"

Roy shook his head slowly. "No. I don't know either."

Again, Frank Archer nodded. With another bow of his head, he offered the two men a sharp smile, before stepping out and closing the door behind him.

Hughes' would have laughed when Roy gave a heavy breath of relief, if only the situation wasn't so serious. He sighed, looking at his friend playfully, "You gotta be more careful, Roy."

Roy moaned morosely. "Yes, I know." He rubbed his temples. "Are you sure that these walls and door is sound proof?"

"Not really." Hughes smiled sympathetically. "But they're thick enough not to let voices through, unless you're yelling, of course." He glanced at the other. "I don't usually bring work home." He smiled. "But are you up for a cup of tea?"

"Thank you." Roy smiled in gratitude as Hughes handed him a cup of hot, steaming coffee. He blew the smoking liquid absentmindedly before taking a small sip, ignoring the small sting on the tip of his tongue.

Hughes sat on the chair across him. "What are your thoughts on Lieutenant Colonel Archer?"

"He's ugly."

Hughes laughed. "We know that. But you'd be surprised just how many female officers we have that giggle over him." Roy hummed thoughtfully. He chuckled. "Your fan base's still bigger, if that's what you're worried about." That earned him a pointed look that he ignored.

Roy leaned back on the couch. "What about _your _thoughts?"

"I'm suspicious." Hughes shrugged, as if it were nothing. "You do know that Frank Archer also experienced the middle stages of the war. I had missions where I was teamed up with him." Roy nodded to indicate he was listening. "Even though we both know that he knows the Fullmetal Alchemist…" Hughes took a sip of his coffee. "Doesn't it strike you weird how a lieutenant colonel would be the one informed of the missing files?"

Roy raised an eyebrow. "You know his connections to the Fuhrer."

"True." Hughes shrugged yet again. "But we both know that the Fuhrer would have picked someone other than him to handle files of the Fullmetal. If not someone with a higher rank, at least someone more… responsible, perhaps? No offense to Lieutenant Colonel Archer, of course. Like… Major Armstrong, for example."

Roy nodded slowly. "If the Fuhrer needed to pick a Lieutenant Colonel… he would have picked you." He looked at the picture on the wall adjacent of him, smiling slightly as he gazed at how Elysia sat happily on her father's shoulders. He let his eyes then travel to the person in front of him. "An officer known for his investigation skills."

Hughes chuckled. "Thank you for the compliment."

"So…" Roy took another sip of his coffee, and as he leaned further back onto the couch, he gave his friend a playful smirk. "Are you up for an investigation then, Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes?"

Hughes smirked back. "With something this juicy, how can I refuse?"

* * *

"Now, let's get back in track." Hughes smiled at Roy's blink. "How the Fullmetal Alchemist started? It's a long story, though."

Roy put down his now empty cup on the coffee table, before letting himself get comfortable. "I have all the time in the world."

The other man grinned. "I thought so." He followed suit, and also put his cup down. "I was about twenty when he arrived in front of the military building in Central looking all famished. It was obvious they were both exhausted, but the older brother stood firm and demanded that he become a State Alchemist." Hughes chuckled, "I suppose _demanded _is not the right word, but more or less so. Quite arrogant, I know, and very, very stubborn. It was that same attitude that led him to his title, though."

"How did someone of his age get in the military in the first place?" Roy raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently, their late father was known throughout the military as a man of skill and talent. The boys obviously inherited it, because when the Fuhrer gave them the permission to be tested, they passed with flying colors." Hughes remarked. "Trust me. _I _was there."

He continued. "He started out with small missions that eventually became larger cases. His brother would _always _be with him, although he wasn't part of the military. Edward Elric is the officer that defied all the rules." He chuckled. "But with his skill and the love of the people for him, we couldn't afford to lose him. Besides, even if he did defy the rules, I don't know the hell why, everything always turned out right in the end."

"The bottom line is that he did his missions superbly, and his actions caused him the love of the people and fellow officers." Hughes shrugged. "That's all there is to it."

Roy nodded slowly, letting the information sink in. "How did the Fullmetal Alchemist end then?"

"We're at the end so soon?" Hughes grinned, but nonetheless answered. "The Ishbalians attacked while the Elric brothers were on patrol in the west wing of Central HQ. They had the element of surprise and number. Fortunately, we managed to subdue the Ishbalians. Unfortunately, however, the Elric brothers were the only ones in the wing during that night, and therefore were the only ones who suffered."

Hughes paused dramatically. "Alphonse Elric died, and Edward Elric lost his sight."

Roy looked at him.

Hughes continued. "After that, the Fullmetal Alchemist was removed from the military to recuperate. He never came back, and was pretty much never heard from again." He smiled slightly. "A year later, word came about a skilled blind sculptor going by the name of Edward Elric."

"What about family?" Roy asked. "So far, I've only heard of a younger brother and a father who's passed away. Is that it?"

Hughes shrugged. "Al's the only sibling, as far as I know. The father's been dead for years. The mother as well passed away." He paused. "The Elric family… it's a sad one."

Roy nodded silently in agreement. Hughes continued. "All I know is that after their mother's death, that's when they started to journey all the way from Risembool, until they landed in Central HQ."

"Do you know _why _they wanted to come to HQ?" Roy raised an eyebrow.

The other shook his head. "Apparently not." He smiled. "I never thought to ask him then… I thought that we had all the time in the world to talk about irrelevant things."

Roy chuckled. "You mean that you were too obsessed showing off pictures of Elysia to even think about asking?"

Hughes grinned. "Bingo." His eyes practically lit up. "Speaking of Elysia, I snapped a picture of her running after a cat! She was so cute!"

* * *

"Ed, you really should be taking more care of yourself." Winry put her hands on her waist, looking at Ed with a pointed look. "I'm not here everytime to scold you, you know. And most importantly, you ignored my lunch that I prepared especially for you! Is this some kind of message? Don't you love me anymore, Edo?"

Ed twitched. "WINRY!"

Winry grinned. "Now, tell me what's bothering your sweet, little mind."

"Nothing." Ed glared in front of him, as he couldn't follow Winry's voice since she kept on pacing so much. "I just didn't notice that you came in so I didn't know that there was lunch. That's it."

"Ed! That's the point! What if it wasn't me that came in? You'd be dead by now with all your savings stuffed and hidden in the insides of the car door of some stranger! There's a reason why doors come with locks."

"The last time I locked, you cried on me saying that I don't want you anymore."

"Ah, that's right." Winry coughed. "But either way! Tell me what's wrong, Edo. You forgot to eat your breakfast, then your lunch. Also, when I slept, I saw you working in the basement. When I woke up, you were still there! You can't have been working on that Colonel's statue, huh? You miss him, don't you?"

Ed sighed exasperatedly. "Winry! I'm waiting for him to come so that we can finish, that's all! And since every scrap of my work of him pretty much went down the drain when I tripped and ruined everything, I'm simply doing based on what I can remember to make things go faster."

"But… Ed." Winry looked at him sadly, looking at those eyes that stared back at her, but have never really seen her. She wondered how such a person can look fixedly at one spot and yet see nothing at all. "I saw it. Through the basement window. Before I came to deliver your lunch."

Ed glared, but muttered slowly. "Saw what?"

"I saw you… Doing the statue." Winry smiled sympathetically, moving forward to throw her arms around the other, to hug him close to her tightly. "The statue of your little brother."

And Ed resigned with a heavy sigh, as he closed his eyes and hugged Winry back. "I miss Al."

* * *

"What… made you remember Al?" Winry asked slowly, not sure if she was stepping on a touchy subject, but Ed just shrugged and closed his eyes.

"I received a visit last night."

Winry perked up. "Who?" As far as she knew, she was the only one who went in and out of Ed's house, and she made sure to keep track of all the customers that arrived and left. Come to think of it, she slept late last night working on some project that her grandmother had dumped on her. Since her workshop had a window that clearly showed the front door to Ed's house, she was sure she would have at least noticed someone going in from the corner of her eye.

"Last night…" Ed muttered, shaking his head slightly as he laughed darkly. "My older brother and I had a chat."

And Winry's eyes widened as she gasped and stepped back, only for her feet to twist together. She fell on the carpet with a soft thud, but she could care less about the pain that throbbed steadily from her backside. All that resounded in her head was one name and one name only.

Shaking, she muttered. "Envy…"

Ed's head shot up, and he stared unseeingly in front of him as he spoke, "Do you know… Envy?"

* * *

**KK: **this is way too overdue, I know. Please forgive me. XD;; There are several reasons for that other than laziness! Okay, it was mostly laziness, but dad needed the laptop for his business trip to Taiwan so I couldn't write anything until he came back. When he came back however, writer's block hit. I've already written half of this chapter, and it remained that way for a few more days, until I finally found how to end this chapter to write it today. :D;; And besides, Christmas came.

Speaking of which, MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Hope everyone got a gift from Santa this year. X3


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